Did you not see any puffins on Heimaey? They're pretty skittish. I never got close enough for a pic. The golf course was the best place - in their natural habitat on the back 9 :)

Jul 25, 2011 1:55 PM #

Cristina:

The puffins are gone! Well, almost gone, but you wouldn't know it by talking to the islanders - they seem to be trying to keep it a secret. It's like a puffin tourism conspiracy. Definitely didn't see any on the golf course. We did see a cluster of black specs in the water by the southern end of the island, but I can only take the word of our guide that they were actually puffins, because they were way too far to be sure. And those were the only (live) ones we saw.

I guess that's actually better than the odds of biggins seeing a penguin.

Jul 25, 2011 6:41 PM #

eddie:

What? Permanently gone or just on holiday? There were quite a few when I was there just a few years ago. They were nesting on the sea side of the ridge above the campground. Maybe the sheep ate them.

Jul 25, 2011 7:00 PM #

Cristina:

Not yet permanently... but some were saying that this year's breeding season may completely fail, so that would probably mean almost no puffins there for a while. The theory is that warmer water around the island has brought in bigger fish who are eating the puffin food, leaving none for the puffins. So, each year for the past few years there have been less and less puffins in the Westman Islands, until now they are almost all gone. There are more puffins on the storefront signs (eating cheesburgers, drinking beer, and wearing funny costumes) than on in the water or on the cliffs!

Jul 26, 2011 4:03 PM #

bubo:

For puffin watching (and many other birds) I recommend Runde on the west coast of Norway, close to Ålesund. At least we got to see lots when we were there (over 20 years ago though).

This discussion thread is closed.